Tag Archives: park homes

Stephen Gilbert MP

Stephen Gilbert MP writes… Welcome news for park home residents

By Stephen Gilbert MP | Thu 28th June 2012 - 3:23 pm

We all deserve a safe and secure place to live. But all too often for the 160,000 people living in park homes up and down the country the reality fails to live up to the utopian dream offered in the marketing brochure.

For those readers not familiar with the term, a ‘park home’ is a static caravan. Usually found grouped together in modestly sized communities (2,000 of them in all) often by the coast or in areas of natural beauty. This ‘peaceful’ life primarily attracts the retired, the elderly and the infirm – often seeking more peaceful surroundings to live out …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 1 Comment
Peter Black AM

Opinion: Standing up for the rights of mobile home owners

By Peter Black AM | Tue 29th May 2012 - 8:55 am

A recent survey by a consumer watchdog has found that more than 40 per cent of park homes residents have said that they feel unable to sell or buy their home freely due to a fear of site operators blocking sales. Consumer Focus Wales has discovered that almost two-thirds (62 per cent) of park home residents in Wales who were interviewed have experienced problems on their site in the past five years, while 29 per cent have experienced problems with site maintenance, security or safety standards.

Local councils have also told the consumer watchdog that penalties are not severe enough for rogue site operators, while it is almost impossible to revoke a licence. The high costs of potential court cases against rogue site operators means that local authorities are reluctant to take action which might affect vulnerable residents.

Continue reading »
Posted in News and Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 1 Comment
Annette Brooke MP

Annette Brooke MP writes: Progresss at last for park home owners?

By Annette Brooke MP | Wed 2nd May 2012 - 12:27 pm

Many of you will know that I have been campaigning on park home issues for many years. Working with Sonia McColl, a constituent and founder of the Park Home Owners Justice Campaign, I have been trying to raise awareness and press the Government to take action over the issue of unscrupulous park owners.

The campaign to end injustices for park home owners and close loopholes in the 1983 Mobile Homes Act has been long running. These loopholes allow some park owners to interfere with the selling of homes and abuse their position by using interviews to put off and intimidate prospective …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged and | 3 Comments
Annette Brooke MP

The Local Government Slot: Fighting for a Better Deal for Park Home Owners

By Annette Brooke MP | Thu 1st March 2012 - 3:23 pm

We have recently seen a lot of activity in Parliament on the issue of park homes and the problems park home owners are facing across the country.

To some extent 2011 saw familiar frustrations and delays that have, unfortunately, often characterised attempts to solve park homes problems in the past.

However 2011 also saw headway being made. The tireless efforts of campaigners and activists have built real momentum and an appetite for change amongst my colleagues in Parliament. I firmly believe this is filtering through and that the Government will be drawn to action soon.

Events such as the Park Homes Justice Campaign’s demonstration in October have been hugely successful in raising awareness. As part of this campaign Downing Street was presented with new evidence showing that as many as 23,473 homes from across the UK could be living under the regime of an unscrupulous park owner. The fantastic work of this campaign, and of its organiser Sonia McColl, has had a real impact over these last months. Also of real importance has been the large number of letters written to MPs. I can only encourage this – the more letters that are written, the more MPs will push for change and the more chance we have of succeeding.

Continue reading »
Posted in Local government | Also tagged and | 3 Comments
Stephen Gilbert MP

Stephen Gilbert MP writes… Park home residents must be looked after properly

By Stephen Gilbert MP | Wed 11th January 2012 - 3:17 pm

For us all, the home we live in is one of the most important factors in how we live our lives. Whether it be a house, a flat, shared accommodation, or – as it is for almost a quarter of a million people in the UK – a ‘Park Home’.

Park Homes are modern, bungalow-style residential properties usually sited on private estates. The park home industry is a billion pound business. There are over two thousand park home sites within the UK, primarily but not exclusively centred in rural areas like my constituency in Cornwall.

For the vast majority of the quarter …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged | 4 Comments
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Nell
    As an autistic person, I am glad to see this hypocrisy being spoke about, and called out for the patriarchal nonsense that it is. Your analogy of the same all...
  • Simon R
    @Jude: That's a false comparison. The fact that gender-critical views are protected doesn't stop you from accessing medical treatment. It simply means that I c...
  • Joseph Bourke
    The 2010 US Supreme court ruling in the Citizens United case has seen spending on federal elections balloon tenfold over the past 15 years from around $550 mill...
  • Nigel Jones
    Some good comments about equality and beliefs, but freedom of expression is also an issue and there are a few people even within this party who want to silence...
  • Jenny Barnes
    Unfortunately there won't be any growth. We need to make things better without it....